Politics

By Jeremy Diamond and Tami Luhby, CNN President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he is directing all nursing homes to require their staff be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to continue receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden said he is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to draw up new regulations making

By Zachary Cohen, CNN New satellite images obtained by CNN show Russia may be preparing another test of its nuclear-powered cruise missile, known as “Skyfall”– a controversial weapon that is designed to defeat US defense systems. The photos, which were captured on August 16 by the commercial satellite imaging company Capella Space, offer “strong indications

By Fredreka Schouten and Dianne Gallagher, CNN Georgia’s state elections board on Wednesday named a three-person review panel to examine election operations in the state’s most populous county — under a provision of a new state election law that voting rights activists have warned could lead to a partisan takeover of a Democratic stronghold in

By Alexandra Meeks and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN A Republican candidate challenging California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the upcoming state recall election was served with a subpoena while onstage during a debate Tuesday. Video of the awkward moment shows John Cox being served court documents during his opening remarks of the debate at the Guild

By Jeremy Herb, Lauren Fox, Ryan Nobles and Alex Rogers, CNN Congressional Democrats are preparing a series of hearings on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan amid rising anger about the Biden administration’s handling of the end of the war, with the Taliban rapidly taking control and the US chaotically scrambling to evacuate Americans and vulnerable

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN The Biden administration has proposed a federal regulation that would overhaul the asylum system in an attempt to settle claims at a faster pace and help alleviate the immigration court backlog, the departments of Homeland Security and Justice announced Wednesday. The proposed rule would give asylum officers more authority by allowing

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Lobbyists, lawmakers and border mayors are imploring the Biden administration to ease restrictions on nonessential travel put in place 18 months ago at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. But officials haven’t budged even as other countries gradually open to Americans. A tangled web of Covid-19 border restrictions has limited who

By Jeremy Herb, Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler and Evan Perez, CNN The Biden administration is still struggling to answer basic questions about whether it can successfully evacuate tens of thousands of Americans and vulnerable Afghans in a race against a ticking clock ahead of the US military’s August 31 Afghanistan withdrawal date. On

By Paul LeBlanc and Andy Rose, CNN Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said Tuesday that the state would use federal Covid relief money to increase the funding available to public school districts only if they’re open for in-person learning and don’t require children to wear masks. To be eligible for the grant funding — $163

By Dianne Gallagher, CNN The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the state House may compel the attendance of its members by civil arrest, overturning a lower court order from earlier this month. The Texas House has yet to reach a quorum during the second called special session because the majority of House Democrats have

By Daniel Dale Defending his withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden and his administration have emphasized how many people served in the Afghan military before its collapse. “We spent over a trillion dollars. We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong. Incredibly well equipped. A force larger in

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said Tuesday. Abbott, a Republican, is fully vaccinated against the virus, his office said in a statement, adding that he is tested daily and this is his first positive result. He is currently isolated in the governor’s mansion and is

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he was concerned that then-President Donald Trump “undermined” the US’ 2020 agreement with the Taliban by pushing for US forces to leave Afghanistan without the Taliban meeting the conditions of the deal. The Trump administration’s “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” outlined a